The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1887-11-16
A CONFESSION BY MARBLE.
Story of the Murder Of Uorker as Told
To a Fellow Prisoner.
He States that His Mother and His Wife
We're Implicated in the Crime-O Other
Murders in which He took Hand.

w m. IL. Hess. q prisoner COIuNcu III lllc
county jail made public a confession
which Marble, the murderer, made to
him last Thursday, the 10th instant.
Hess made affidavit to the statements
before the county clerk. Following Is
a verbatim copy of what Hess testiedtO:
Statement of Richard +. Marble in
regard to the murder of ID. i. COrker u
WIN. Henry Hess the day before Marble
was executed:
/ was in Jail with MarpIe some three
or four weeks before he was executed.
He always told about the SAM story
about the murder, and in substance that
il was Eastman and Clark and quite a
number Of the citizens Of Lafayette, to-
gether with the MaSonS, that committed
the murder, TIL the day before he was
hanged, at which time said 10 him that
/ did not believe these statements he
had been making to me about these men
numbering COrker and that the time was
near at hand for his execution. and |
would like to know all about Il. Then,
after heSitatng a moment, he said n
would enter into a VOW TO never tell any
one i'm case he was reprirved. and That
would not tell any one till after he was
executed, i'm case he should be executed.
heayould tell Inc the straight of n. 4
took all the vows he requested me 10
take. Then he told me he had come To
actual want, and having knowledge
that COrker had money, he proceeded To
make these plans for rObblng him:
| Said his mother was intimate win Mr..
Corker and had visited him privately;
that on the night of the murder MS
mother was in Mr.. COrkcr's
| bedroom when he was murdered and
| drugged him: that himself and mother
and wife had talked over the robbery
before that night, and that they did not
| intend 10 murder him, but To rob him;
| said he had studied medicine ana knew
the effects of drugs.
Alter waiting long enough for The
| drug given by his mOlher to take eifeci:
| ne went to the door 10 get in, but found
| it fastened. Then went around by the
| side of the house and crept through the
| window, and after he got in Mr.. Corker
| was in an uneasy Stup0r. Then ms
mother suggested that if they robbed
| him he might wake up and then she
| would be- arrested for the robbery.
| Then he advanced the idea that they
| would kill him and fire the building.
| His mother then took the AK. which they
| got out of the store, and struck him a
| glanclng blow with the pole or back or
| the AK on the forehead, which BROUGHT
him out of his StupOr into a struggling
| position. Then lac (Marplr) gathered
| the ak out of the old lady'S hand and
commenced cutting him with the edge.
| But as he lay in wrong position Tor
| lefI-handed man. il was some time be-
| fore he got a satisfactory b Ow IN on
| MIN. But finally he gave him q center
blow which brought him d -ad, after
| which they ob,aiued the money, S206.15.
which was to be divid, d, Onc-half 20 his
| mother and One-halt ID him. His mother
| ,OOk the money.
After be was murdered they straight
| aned him out i'm a position Is though
| the murder had he committed ny the
| Masonic order. After the murder they
| Thought they heard noise on the out
,ide. and then Marple helped h!S mother
| lut OF the building and then he went
| ut. and himself and mother returned
/ home as fast as they could. said the
| murder was committed between 9 and
| 10 O'clock in the esenlng. lie said Cor
>er was man who occasionally took a
| drink. and ia that way his mother
| lrugged him. That his mother had
| acted hog, and had not given his wife
| one-half the money. Said he had III
| tended to leave town that night after the
| murder, to throw suspicion off from
him. but found his wife in such state
II Ol llldi hih UD- Alll4AlA IL o.A-N AD
leave her.
| / said something TO him about ii being
such a horrible thing 10 Kill a man in
that way for money. He said that ia
case of actual want it was nothing more
| TO kill a man than TO kill a hog. lie
| tOld me that he helped TO kiil an old
| lady at Oregon City; think the name
| was Hager. Said she was killed with a
| hatchet; that she was perfect tiger,
and fought desperately. That the first
| one that tackled her she got the best Of,
and that he (Marple) caught the hatchet
| md struck her and she pushed him
| back and the hatchet was dropped, and
the third man caught it and dealt her a
fatal blow and finished her: said one of
| he men lost his shirt collar i'm the
struggle; that they did not get much
| money; that he was wearing a ring that
ne got from Mrs. Hager. and that he
/ took it off her finger after she was
killed; that they had heard that she
had got check for a considerable
amount of money and supposed sne had
| the money, but they could not find il.
Said he was one of the parties that
| helped TO kill French woman i'm Port
| land that they got quite sum of money ;
| hat she was killed by being chopped To
death; that there were four persons coll
| nected with it-three inside that done
| the work and one outside watching.
| He said that he had manufactured the
| story duplicating the sheriff and other
citizens of Lafayette, and the MasOns,
with the murder of COTker to throw the
suspicion Off from himself. and TO get
| even on those who had been active in
| convicting him. That he had written
nut this story and committed It to men,
| ory, so he could tell IL Just alike every
time. That they thought him fool but
they were badly left on that That he
had an extraordinary memory. If he
was reprieved / was never TO mention
| this. He did not want me TO ever men,
LiOn anything about his mother being
connected with this murder. He said
he reason he implicated Z. J. Harris.
the sheriff, was because he had been
oyerbearing to him in Jail and had not
treated him right, and he wanted 10 kill
him in the eyes Of the people. At the
time L was talking to him 1 was i'm the
north corridor of the fail alone, and he
was in his cell and the other prisoners
were in the south corridor. The con-
verSatlon was interrupted by The other
prisoners coming around to where we
were. did not have time TO get a full
statement from him, as we could ONLY
talk when the other prisoners were on
the other side of the cells. We had 10
talk in low voice to keen the other
prisoners from hearing us. / had noo
portunity to talk with MarpIe after Tia At
time on Thursday. l knew nothing